Well, it's officially begun: the big push to finish Griffin's room before he arrives. As you may or may not know, the nursery is being kept a surprise from me. Mombi has taken it on as her special project, and I won't get to see it until it's done. My Mom came over yesterday, and she and Mombi spent several hours in Griffin's room planning things out. Then, they went shopping. They both seem very excited about it, and I can't wait to see what they're up to!
Stage 1, apparently, is to weatherproof our small back porch as much as possible, so that Mombi can work out there. I also know that there will be a significant amount of sanding involved, as well as some painting. Other than that, the only other clue I have is that it's "something I would never expect." Based on that, I did find it necessary to confirm that they haven't decided to switch the theme to Nascar. Thankfully, no. I'll keep you posted of any new developments!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Slowing Down
Ugh. Today, the question from everyone was "Are you feeling OK?"
With exactly 8 weeks until my due date, I'm starting to move slower, and more carefully. My bladder requires special coddling in order to get from place to place without staging a demonstration. My pelvic floor is aching. Heartburn makes breathing uncomfortable. Overheating is inevitable. And my left foot has started rubbing against the top of my most comfortable shoes, so I'm limping a bit.
Other than all that, though, I feel great! I just love thinking about what's coming, and every twinge and ache reminds me of the amazingness that's happening inside. Add to that how incredible Mombi is, and how much I'm enjoying the extra closeness that this experience has brought us. She's been unfailingly supportive and positive, and we're having a blast imagining life with Griffin.
With exactly 8 weeks until my due date, I'm starting to move slower, and more carefully. My bladder requires special coddling in order to get from place to place without staging a demonstration. My pelvic floor is aching. Heartburn makes breathing uncomfortable. Overheating is inevitable. And my left foot has started rubbing against the top of my most comfortable shoes, so I'm limping a bit.
Other than all that, though, I feel great! I just love thinking about what's coming, and every twinge and ache reminds me of the amazingness that's happening inside. Add to that how incredible Mombi is, and how much I'm enjoying the extra closeness that this experience has brought us. She's been unfailingly supportive and positive, and we're having a blast imagining life with Griffin.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Time goes weird again
Just when I think that things are moving quickly again, I realize for the umpteenth time just how long we still have to go. Last night I actually dreamt that I was ready to give birth and then realized that I still had to wait two months. And that's exactly how it feels. I feel big, Griffin feels strong, and psychologically I think that all three of us are ready. I have to consciously remind myself that I really don't want him to come this early, that it would be a hard time for all of us.
There's still much to do. The invite went out at work today for my shower, and get this... there are 40 people invited so far, and it's still growing! The person who is organizing it had to choose the date based partially on when she could get the largest training room in the building. I feel so special!!! I had a hunch that it was going to be big last week when she asked me to add to my registry, but I'm totally in awe. I gave her all the details for the cloth diapering stuff we want, in case people want to pool funds to get some for us. How cool would that be? Luckily I was included on the meeting invite, so I don't have to pretend not to know about it. And it's long enough away that I'll have a couple weekends to clean out the car!
I also still have to get everything set for the temp who will be handling my job while I'm out on leave. I've scheduled myself for an hour per day T/W/Th from now until she starts working with me in mid-March, so that I can get things all organized and written out. I've also started saying "no" to extra projects that I know will take a lot of time and may extend beyond when I have to leave. So on that level, I guess I'm finally thinking in terms of it being a short period of time until Griffin comes.
It reminds me a lot of moving to a new home. There's only so much you can do ahead of time, and there's the rush at the end that you know is coming but there's nothing you can do to spread it out or prepare ahead of time. For us, the true rush will start after the shower is done. Until then, it's a matter of staying as comfortable as possible, being patient, and finding as many positive distractions as possible!
When I start thinking that I still have a long long time to wait, I just think of all my internet friends and their new babies. The little ones are all so old already! When I remember that, I realize that there's really no time at all between now and then.
But then I think, "what if I'm a couple weeks late?" And on and on it goes, until I either fall asleep, get hungry, or find myself distracted by the rapid and impressive distortions of my abdomen.
There's still much to do. The invite went out at work today for my shower, and get this... there are 40 people invited so far, and it's still growing! The person who is organizing it had to choose the date based partially on when she could get the largest training room in the building. I feel so special!!! I had a hunch that it was going to be big last week when she asked me to add to my registry, but I'm totally in awe. I gave her all the details for the cloth diapering stuff we want, in case people want to pool funds to get some for us. How cool would that be? Luckily I was included on the meeting invite, so I don't have to pretend not to know about it. And it's long enough away that I'll have a couple weekends to clean out the car!
I also still have to get everything set for the temp who will be handling my job while I'm out on leave. I've scheduled myself for an hour per day T/W/Th from now until she starts working with me in mid-March, so that I can get things all organized and written out. I've also started saying "no" to extra projects that I know will take a lot of time and may extend beyond when I have to leave. So on that level, I guess I'm finally thinking in terms of it being a short period of time until Griffin comes.
It reminds me a lot of moving to a new home. There's only so much you can do ahead of time, and there's the rush at the end that you know is coming but there's nothing you can do to spread it out or prepare ahead of time. For us, the true rush will start after the shower is done. Until then, it's a matter of staying as comfortable as possible, being patient, and finding as many positive distractions as possible!
When I start thinking that I still have a long long time to wait, I just think of all my internet friends and their new babies. The little ones are all so old already! When I remember that, I realize that there's really no time at all between now and then.
But then I think, "what if I'm a couple weeks late?" And on and on it goes, until I either fall asleep, get hungry, or find myself distracted by the rapid and impressive distortions of my abdomen.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Too good not to share.
There are some great web sites out there for parents. Here's one of my favorites: http://www.parenthacks.com/ There are reviews of particularly good products, but the majority of the site is actually suggestions sent in by parents for ways to do things easier or better, with comments from other parents. I just visited it for the first time in a while, and read that breast milk is a very good cure for eye infections. Who knew? What a great website.
What parenting sites do you really like?
In other random web news, we are now registered at Target and Babys R Us. If you know my legal name or Mombi's, you can look us up. If you don't know our true names but are longing to buy us something, let us know. We're nowhere near as stocked as some of our internet friends (we haven't even been inside a baby store since we got pregnant) but due to some very generous gifts from friends and family, we already have much of what we need.
What parenting sites do you really like?
In other random web news, we are now registered at Target and Babys R Us. If you know my legal name or Mombi's, you can look us up. If you don't know our true names but are longing to buy us something, let us know. We're nowhere near as stocked as some of our internet friends (we haven't even been inside a baby store since we got pregnant) but due to some very generous gifts from friends and family, we already have much of what we need.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
So Much Love!
This picture was taken a few years ago, when Mombi worked at a daycare in Denver. She had some crazy dreads at the time, so for "silly hair day" on Valentine's day, she tucked them under this black wig and a shocking pink bandana. She bucked the system and their "no hats" policy daily with her crazy bandanas. (I think she had every style they sold at the local craft store!) The kids absolutely loved her. This is one of my favorite pictures of her, because it shows her phenomenal smile and goofy sense of humor.
I try to express daily to Mombi just how much I love and adore her. I talk about her so much at work that when she stops by the lobby of my office building to meet me for something, people entering/exiting recognize her from the photo on my desk (not this one), address her by name, and ask how she's doing. She's my best friend and the greatest romance I've ever had. She has an amazing sense of humor and comic timing. (We laugh together a lot!) I love the way her mind puts things together in unexpected ways. She's constantly doing sweet things for me. She has a great smile, gorgeous eyes, and naturally perfect eyebrows. She's a great storyteller. She's amazing with kids. Heck, she's amazing with adults.
I could go on for much much longer, but I'm sure that we'll all have an overdose of "love blogs" today. So I'll just say that (as my little sister puts it) I get all warm and squishy inside when I think about the fact that next year it will be all three of us together for Valentine's Day.
I love you, Mombi!!!
I try to express daily to Mombi just how much I love and adore her. I talk about her so much at work that when she stops by the lobby of my office building to meet me for something, people entering/exiting recognize her from the photo on my desk (not this one), address her by name, and ask how she's doing. She's my best friend and the greatest romance I've ever had. She has an amazing sense of humor and comic timing. (We laugh together a lot!) I love the way her mind puts things together in unexpected ways. She's constantly doing sweet things for me. She has a great smile, gorgeous eyes, and naturally perfect eyebrows. She's a great storyteller. She's amazing with kids. Heck, she's amazing with adults.
I could go on for much much longer, but I'm sure that we'll all have an overdose of "love blogs" today. So I'll just say that (as my little sister puts it) I get all warm and squishy inside when I think about the fact that next year it will be all three of us together for Valentine's Day.
I love you, Mombi!!!
Friday, February 09, 2007
.75 is a Huge Number
Wow, we're 3/4 of the way through this pregnancy! It's really amazing to realize how quickly the time has gone by.
This morning I was woken at 3:30 by my cat flopping down in the hammock made by my belly and my body pillow, and Griffin promptly attempting to kick her back off again. The cat, of course, was not disturbed in the least, so it was up to me to shift her once it got uncomfortable. That adventure over, I stayed awake for another hour or so, just playing with Griffin and trying to find a comfortable position.
It struck me all at once that I soon won't have him thumping and poking and wiggling and tickling inside me any more, and it made me rather sad. Not sad enough to wish he'd stay in there longer, mind you, but prematurely remeniscent none the less.
This morning I was woken at 3:30 by my cat flopping down in the hammock made by my belly and my body pillow, and Griffin promptly attempting to kick her back off again. The cat, of course, was not disturbed in the least, so it was up to me to shift her once it got uncomfortable. That adventure over, I stayed awake for another hour or so, just playing with Griffin and trying to find a comfortable position.
It struck me all at once that I soon won't have him thumping and poking and wiggling and tickling inside me any more, and it made me rather sad. Not sad enough to wish he'd stay in there longer, mind you, but prematurely remeniscent none the less.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Full Body Pregnancy Simulator (with storage case)
Ever wonder how L&D nurses and OBs get their first practice? I stumbled across this product while looking for images of fetal location during development.
Check it out: Life Simulation Model
Check it out: Life Simulation Model
Tracking Time
Time keeps slipping by. It's so stealthy these days that I only really notice it when I realize that a couple of days have gone by since my last blog post. Part of the reason for this, I'm sure, is that there isn't a whole lot going on. Yesterday's big adventure was that I finally broke down and took my flex spending card to CVS and bought a good humidifier. Our apartment's air has been so dry lately that Mombi and I both have ridiculously dry skin, and we zap the animals any time we try to pet them. Not so good, especially when you consider that babies are extra-prone to dry skin anyway. So, I went out and got this:
It's a Vicks V4500 Filterless Humidifier. I was going to get a warm mist humidifier because of the bacteria/filter factor associated with the cool mist ones, but then I found this one at the store. It's so fabulously sturdy that I'm not worried about us crunching it in the middle of the night and causing an electrical problem, like I would be with the typical warm mist version. And it only requires the occasional rinse with vinegar and then bleach to keep it nice and clean. We've had it going since last night, and even after just a few hours the air in the apartment already felt much better. Eventually when we get back to a decent humidity level, we can start using the humidistat feature to monitor the moisture in the air. For now, though, we just know we need MORE!
It's a Vicks V4500 Filterless Humidifier. I was going to get a warm mist humidifier because of the bacteria/filter factor associated with the cool mist ones, but then I found this one at the store. It's so fabulously sturdy that I'm not worried about us crunching it in the middle of the night and causing an electrical problem, like I would be with the typical warm mist version. And it only requires the occasional rinse with vinegar and then bleach to keep it nice and clean. We've had it going since last night, and even after just a few hours the air in the apartment already felt much better. Eventually when we get back to a decent humidity level, we can start using the humidistat feature to monitor the moisture in the air. For now, though, we just know we need MORE!
Monday, February 05, 2007
The Power of Suggestion
I dreamt that I fell asleep while reading a book about giving birth naturally without discomfort. In my dream I realized that I could feel griffin's head way down in my abdomen, and that I could actually feel his little ears quite perfectly through my skin. It was amazing! So I played with his (very cute) ears for a while, just rubbing them and talking to him, and eventually I woke up, or so I thought. My mind messes with me this way quite often when I'm sleeping, but I never manage to catch on while it's happening.
So I was laying there, still dreaming but thinking I was awake, thinking how sad it was that I couldn't actually feel him, that it had clearly just been a dream, when I reached down and discovered that (wow!) I really could feel him! I realized then, though, that I'd never felt him nearly so low, and started to wonder if perhaps I was going to have a very early baby. After massaging his ears for a while to reassure him that we'd both be fine and that we should relax and let things happen, I decided to get up and go to the bathroom.
I stood up and found that I was leaking fluid. Luckily my Mom and a random female cousin/aunt who doesn't really exist were standing in the hallway outside my room. Now at this point, a truly conscious me would probably stop in her tracks and wonder why I was in my childhood home, and who this other female was. But in my dream (since I clearly was still dreaming) I thought nothing of it.
I walked over to them, and calmly told my mom that I thought that I might be having an early baby. She calmly said something like "oh shit, and with company here" and suggested that I should go into the bathroom and check to see if it really was amniotic fluid. In order to get into the bathroom, I had to unplug a cord that they had just rigged across the hallway in order to blow cold night air in to where the aunt/cousin was staying. This, of course, because in that house when I was younger we did not have air conditioning. It was installed just before we left Michigan and moved to TN.
Anyway, I went into the bathroom, and discovered that yes, indeed, he was coming down already and my water had broken. I was surprised, of course, but very calm, and attributed it all to the relaxed anticipation that I was feeling as a result of the book on birthing in comfort. I thought to myself that the power of suggestion truly was very strong, and woke up (this time for real) feeling very happy and secure.
No, I can't massage Griffin's ears. But I'm looking forward to the day when I can. For now, I'm going to make myself a cheese sandwich and go back to bed.
So I was laying there, still dreaming but thinking I was awake, thinking how sad it was that I couldn't actually feel him, that it had clearly just been a dream, when I reached down and discovered that (wow!) I really could feel him! I realized then, though, that I'd never felt him nearly so low, and started to wonder if perhaps I was going to have a very early baby. After massaging his ears for a while to reassure him that we'd both be fine and that we should relax and let things happen, I decided to get up and go to the bathroom.
I stood up and found that I was leaking fluid. Luckily my Mom and a random female cousin/aunt who doesn't really exist were standing in the hallway outside my room. Now at this point, a truly conscious me would probably stop in her tracks and wonder why I was in my childhood home, and who this other female was. But in my dream (since I clearly was still dreaming) I thought nothing of it.
I walked over to them, and calmly told my mom that I thought that I might be having an early baby. She calmly said something like "oh shit, and with company here" and suggested that I should go into the bathroom and check to see if it really was amniotic fluid. In order to get into the bathroom, I had to unplug a cord that they had just rigged across the hallway in order to blow cold night air in to where the aunt/cousin was staying. This, of course, because in that house when I was younger we did not have air conditioning. It was installed just before we left Michigan and moved to TN.
Anyway, I went into the bathroom, and discovered that yes, indeed, he was coming down already and my water had broken. I was surprised, of course, but very calm, and attributed it all to the relaxed anticipation that I was feeling as a result of the book on birthing in comfort. I thought to myself that the power of suggestion truly was very strong, and woke up (this time for real) feeling very happy and secure.
No, I can't massage Griffin's ears. But I'm looking forward to the day when I can. For now, I'm going to make myself a cheese sandwich and go back to bed.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
29 Week Appointment
I had an appointment with my OB this morning (yesterday morning, technically,) and things look great. My glucose test came back with a score of 73mg/dL, which I'm told is awesome, and my blood pressure/heart rate remain nice and low and steady, so it looks like I'm doing well. I also got the OK to add Pepcid AC to my nightly routine to help out with the acid reflux problems, and I've got the "certificate of medical necessity" so that I can get a prenatal massage. I'm scheduled for 75 minutes on Saturday, and I can't wait!
Griffin is also doing well, with a heart rate of 147. He's currently head down, and the tickling I've been feeling in my very low middle abdomen has been "diagnosed" as him snuggling in with his head. What I'm feeling are his ears and nose as he wiggles his head back and forth. Based on that, I can now also identify which sensations are most likely his hands, and which are his knees and feet.
Mombi, of course, is phenomenal. Her birthday was on the 31st, and we'll be celebrating it on Saturday by going out to eat with my parents. We're also getting an AWESOME gift from them, which will have its own post later!
Griffin is also doing well, with a heart rate of 147. He's currently head down, and the tickling I've been feeling in my very low middle abdomen has been "diagnosed" as him snuggling in with his head. What I'm feeling are his ears and nose as he wiggles his head back and forth. Based on that, I can now also identify which sensations are most likely his hands, and which are his knees and feet.
Mombi, of course, is phenomenal. Her birthday was on the 31st, and we'll be celebrating it on Saturday by going out to eat with my parents. We're also getting an AWESOME gift from them, which will have its own post later!
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